Life is an illusion

[newuser23]

It's always good to keep in mind that our senses can easily fool us.

http://www.grand-illusions.com/images/articles/opticalillusions/dragon_illusion/dragon_illusion.wmv

http://www.grand-illusions.com/opticalillusions/angry_and_calm/

http://www.echalk.co.uk/amusements/OpticalIllusions/colourPerception/colourPerception.html

http://www.grand-illusions.com/images/articles/toyshop/einstein_hollow_face_illusion/main.wmv

http://www.grand-illusions.com/images/articles/toyshop/russian_rattleback/russian_rattleback.wmv

http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~moraes/illusion.html

 

[Keit]

Here another good site about optical illusions.
Including explanations...recommended.

http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/

 

[birdman]

http://www.grand-illusions.com/opticalillusions/dragon_illusion/

 

[paulnotbilly]

I saw this on David Icke's site mid-may 06, he actually made one and filmed it - it's a really great illusion, just another example of how the brain can be fooled.

 

[Ben]

Something which fools the brain, eh?..... bet Icke just loves it.

 

[Russ]

I made one, didn't think much of it. Must work better on a camera.

 

[Keit]

This video demonstrates how our brain perceives faces as a whole, or organizes them into specific patterns if we look straight at them. But it also shows what happens when we focus on something else while the same faces are in the background. The results are really surprising, and if someone has any explanation for it from cognitive psychology or other sciences point of view, please share!

To see the effect, you need to focus only on the cross mark in the middle.

http://youtu.be/gpPaD8JfNNs

 

[Zadius Sky]

Wow, that was really interesting. I swear - I think I saw a Gray's face from one of them and Tom Cruise having three eyes.

 

[Keit]

Here is the site of those who created the video, and there are some explanations there, research papers and demos.
_http://www.perceptionlab.com/index.html

 

[anart]

Here is the site of those who created the video, and there are some explanations there, research papers and demos.
_http://www.perceptionlab.com/index.html

They say that since the eyes are in exactly the same place, the brain is processing the differences between each face in sequence, basically turning them into caricatures - not sure of the mechanism behind it.

 

[Cosmos]

Very interesting. I would also like to know what is actually going on there and why...

 

[Keit]

There's an article on SOTT about this and other illusions.
http://www.sott.net/article/261450-Wrong-reality-How-our-brains-warp-the-world

 

[Sol Logos]

Would be really interesting to somehow capture the caricutures then compare them to the caricutures others are getting for the same faces. Would they warp differently and if so, are there group patterns to the type of warpings. I know its probably not possible to capture but would be fascinating if you could capture what our minds see through our eyes. Would be a great way to investigate perception.

 

[lewis_86]

I saw this a while back - I think I remember the distortions getting more intense the longer you watch it! and repeated viewings etc. Awesome stuff.

 

[Beau]

How long does it take you to see it?